Icahn Charter School 2

“The charter school's board of trustees looks to include a parent of an active school student as a parent representative on the board of trustees. This parent representative must be an officer of the school's parents' association and must be designated by the association to be its representative. This parent representative to the board has voting rights.”

“The charter school's form 990 is prepared by a nationally recognized independent accounting firm in conjunction with the school's financial department. The form 990 is provided to the full board of trustees for their review and comment in advance of its filing with the internal revenue service.”

“On an annual basis, the secretary of the organization sends the officers, directors, and key employees a conflict of interest disclosure questionnaire. After being filled out, the questionnaires are returned to the secretary, reviewed, and maintained in the organization's records for the relevant year. If the board or a committee of the board has reasonable cause to believe that an interested person has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it will inform the interested person of the basis for such belief and afford him or her an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose. If, after hearing the response and making such further investigation as may be warranted in the circumstances, the board determines that the interested person has in fact failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it will take appropriate action which may include recommendation to the board for removal from the board or termination of employment, as well as reconsideration of whether the transaction or arrangement was in the best interests of and fair and reasonable to the school at the time it was undertaken. If it is determined that the transaction was not fair and reasonable to the school, the school in its discretion, may void the contract and/or require the interested person to restore the school to the financial position it would have been in if such person had been dealing under the highest fiduciary standing.”

“The compensation paid to top management officials, officers and key employees is reasonable based on the duties and responsibilities of the positions, the time spent performing their duties, and their performance level. This is determined by conducting research of compensation for similar positions at similar types of schools. The compensation for top management officials, officers and key employees is reviewed and approved by the board of directors annually and documented in the minutes.”

“The charter school's form 990 is made available to the public on the internet at www.guidestar.org and upon request at its primary place of business. The school does not ordinarily make its governing documents or conflict of interest policy available to the public. The school's audited financial statements can be found on the authorizor's website.”

“The officers reported on part vii of the form 990 receive their w-2 forms from icahn charter school 1; however, these individuals may provide services to various other icahn charter schools (2-7) and their compensation is allocated to each of the charter schools based on the time spent working for each school. The amount of compensation allocated to charter school 2 is as follows: richard santiago - $69,713 lawford cunningham - $53,090 yalitza vasquez - $46,204 edward tom - $36,686”

“The icahn charter school provides a comprehensive k-8 public education based on e.d. Hirsch's core knowledge sequence, a nationally recognized curriculum based on the concept that every child should be equipped with a core foundation of knowledge and skills so that they are armed with the common knowledge base necessary to compete in any setting. The core knowledge foundation believes that what distinguishes the core knowledge sequence from other curriculum guides is that the sequence embodies three essential qualities overlooked by other guides. The core knowledge sequence in all subject areas is (1) content-specific, (2) cumulative, and (3) coherent. The school's curriculum in ela & math is comprised of the following: - the english language arts program uses direct, explicit, systematic and sequential phonics instruction and decodable literature to promote early reading success that takes our students from learning to read, to reading to learn experiences. Students engage in interactive read alouds, scaffolded close reading with complex text that leads them to independence, literature circles and have a plethora of opportunities and resources to read award-winning fiction and non-fiction literature. - the mathematics program sequence provides a rigorous curriculum that covers units beyond the conventional curriculum and is an integral part of the instructional program. A variety of approaches are used such as math workshop, number sense, contexts for learning and cognitively guided instruction. The approaches are enhanced with the use of commercially produced math programs: illustrative math, mclass (k-2), and i-ready. Math is additionally supported by a subject specialist and/or math consultant. Demonstration lessons, inter & intra visitation, and as stand-alone modeling, peer coaching, and professional development ensure that teachers benefit from the latest research on the teaching of not just math, but all subject matter. Students in ela & mathematics needing to strengthen their skills, as determined by baseline testing and teacher judgment are afforded small group instruction forty minutes each day, five days a week as well as additional instruction through before & after-school tutoring and saturday academy. The learning and integration of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics in our steam program is used as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking around content knowledge. The icahn steam program provides a strong foundation of integration at its core, which means that each of the aforementioned curricular areas is both taught in its' own right, as well as connected through common core standards and assessments. Social studies & science are an integral part of the implementation of e.d. Hirsh's core knowledge curriculum. The icahn students, through project-based learning and hands-on experiments, learn the importance of social studies & science in their daily lives and in their future. With one-on-one computing in place it can be said that technology, coding, and robotics are weaved through all aspects of the teaching/learning student experience at icahn. In a core knowledge social studies class students in early childhood begin to learn, discuss, and explore topics about the earth's continents & oceans, ancient greece and rome, exploration, colonialism, and slavery. An emphasis is placed on multiculturalism throughout the curriculum. The social studies subject matter as is all subject content to varying degrees is enhanced by the use of technology, guided virtual trips, project-based learning, debates, guest speakers, trips to museums and historical sites in new york and outside of new york. Classical and contemporary art and music are studied and enhanced through the core knowledge and is seen as an essential part of the knowledge all children should learn. Instruction in the arts takes on many forms as opportunities in the classroom to sing, dance, listen to mu”